


Chasing a Starlight

by Scripto



Category: South Park
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Angst, Blood and Gore, Bounty Hunter Kyle, But it's another planet and shit, Butters is another Marine lol, Cussing, Deaths, Eventual Romance, Fluff and Angst, Gun Violence, IN SPACE!, Interspecies Relationship(s), Kenny is a cyborg lol, Kinda Mad Max like environment, M/M, Marine Craig, Mild Smut, Multi, Past Relationship(s), Robot Bebe, Robots, Sad stuff lol, Smut in later chapters (7), Sniper Wendy, South Park: Phone Destroyer AU, This fanfiction is really out there and weird honestly, Unhealthy Relationships, Violence, War boy Tweek, What Was I Thinking?, Why Did I Write This?, With Aliens, alien clyde, and uh, scifi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-03-26
Packaged: 2019-11-21 19:10:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18146246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scripto/pseuds/Scripto
Summary: As a marine, Craig is sent to the planet Lynx to find a device that alters time. He was not expecting others to be searching as well. The planet is almost nothing but ash and dust from being destroyed from others hunting for the same relic. Craig must decide between helping those around him or dropping them all for the device.





	1. Take Your Protein Pills and Put Your Helmet On

**Author's Note:**

> Welp this one is waaaay out there, isn't it? I was thinking there's a lot of Pastor Craig x Imp Tweek fanfics out there (I have one, so I'm guilty as charged), but my favorite cards in PD are the scifi deck. SO, I thought why not write a fanfic about Marine Craig, since he is my favorite card (I'm weird I know). I plan on writing the whole fanfiction by the end of the month, but I'm slow so we'll see how it goes. THANK YOU FOR READING MY CRAP-- It means a lot to me.  
> I know how fucking weird and out there this shit is soooooooooooooo-- I'd appreciate any feedback really. Even if it is negative, it helps me grow.

The marine stepped out of the shuttle and into the dirty air around him. The planet was nothing but a crumbling desert, devoid of breathing air. Craig put a respirator on to prevent himself from breathing in the debris. Old, disabled vehicles laid still, covered in dust, on the decaying roads. Poor Craig could barely handle the heat that soaked into his heavy metal armor. 

The planet seemed to be lacking any human lifeforms. As the marine walked down the deteriorating roads, he could’ve sworn he felt something following him. “Hello?” His deep, nasally voice shouted out. His words had echoed around but there was no response from the sweltering planet. 

If there really wasn’t anyone else on the planet, then Craig would be able to get what he needed and leave pretty quickly. The only problem was that Craig didn’t know where the device he was required to find was, or what it even looked like. He was only briefed on small details about how it could freeze time or speed it up. His only guess was that it had to be some type of time machine.

He pulled out a scanning device to see if there were any irregular frequencies around him. The strong marine was trying his damnedest to ignore the scorching hot sun practically baking him alive. Sweat rolled down both of his brows as he could see a red dot from not too far behind him. He carefully placed his device back in his pocket as he had his right had ready to draw his weapon at any moment. 

Craig slowly pivoted around and approached one of the crumbled vehicles on the road. It looked as if it were some type of big rig truck, making its last delivery. As he approached it, he could hear faint sounds of scurrying inside. Something was clawing at the walls desperately to get out. 

The marine anxiously unlocked the back, cautiously opening the large doors to the cargo area. Inside, Craig saw some strange alien that he had never seen before. The two of them spotted each other. The alien made some growling noises, it was preparing to pounce on him. Before it could, it collapsed. Craig could feel the heat oozing out of the boxed area. The alien didn’t even stand a chance. 

Craig climbed inside. He felt as if his skin were melting inside of his armor as he slowly came and grabbed the alien. It growled and hissed at him. The strange creature tried to bite through his armor, but couldn’t. As Craig dropped it into the shade behind the truck, it looked at him with a mutual understanding. 

The marine’s eyes were cold as he reached into his hefty utility bag and pulled out a thermos full of cold water and ice. He poured some of the water into the lid and placed it in from the exhausted creature. Craig had a small sip for himself, but he wanted to keep the rest of the water for an emergency. 

The alien’s claws curled around the lid before a long tongue came out to lick it all up. It cringed with discomfort, as if it hated the taste and growled at the marine who had just saved it. Craig was able to see several burn marks all over its shoulders.

“Gah!” A voice yelled from on top of the truck. Foot steps were heard as a man jumped off of it. A young blond man, covered in ashes and war paint, waved a torch in front of the alien, scaring it away. “You dumbass,” he snarled at Craig. “Why did you do that? Don’t you realize how hard it was for me to trap him?” His angry eyes looked up and down the stranger marine. “What’s with all that stupid shit you’re wearing?”

Craig flinched, not knowing how to respond to the shirtless man who was just breathing in the debris without a second thought. “Who are you?”

“The real question is who are you?” The stranger defensively shouted. His body shook with anxiety. “I saw you come down from the sky in that weird-bus-thingy. What the hell is your deal?”

Craig sighed. “I’m Craig Tucker, I’m with the galactic marines. I am supposed to reclaim a device that can alter time. If you can lead me to it, then I will be on my way.” 

The frustrating twitchy blond glared at him. “I don’t even know what you’re talking about.” 

The marine couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “Can you bring me to someone who knows then?”

“No! Gah! I don’t know you well enough, space ranger,” He nervously grumbled as looked around.

“What else do you need to know?” Craig snapped, the heat was getting to him. “Look, I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be walking around with a sweaty ass all day. The sooner I find what I need, the sooner I can leave. I don’t want to be here any longer than you want me to be here.”

The stranger gave a cautious look. “You’re not the first person to ask about this. I’ve seen several people like you fly in and just destroy everything in sight.” He shook nervously. “How do I know you won’t do the same?”

“I have nothing to gain from doing that.”

“A lot of them claimed that too,” the paranoid man leaned against the truck behind him. “It doesn’t help that you just let Clyde run free.”

“Clyde…?”

“That runt xenomorph that’s been harassing everyone. I had him locked in there for a reason.” The man covered in ashes crossed his arms before letting out a pitiful sigh. “It’s not like he’ll last that long anyways.”

The sun was beginning to set as the air cooled. Craig took out his thermos for another sip. “What any?” He asked.

“What is it?”

“Water.”

“Is it clean?”

The marine almost hesitated to nod. He poured some water in the lid for the desert man to drink. Clearly, clean water wasn’t a common occurrence around here. The stranger desperately chugged.

“Thank you,” he murmured to Craig. “My name is Tweek.”

The marine looked around. “Are you paranoid because people in the past caused all this damage?”

Tweek was silent for a second. He could barely comprehend what Craig was talking about. “What damage?”

“Look around at the roads falling apart,” Craig told him. “What caused all these cars to be backed up and stuck like this for this long?”

“I wasn’t around when it all happened. The turnpike has looked like this long before I was even born.” Tweek signaled the marine to follow him. The two of them walked with the abandoned highway. 

“Doesn’t the air bother you?” Craig asked as he quickly glanced at every car, making sure they didn’t look like they were carrying something important. “I found myself putting on a respirator the second I got off of my shuttle.”

Tweek held his torch in front of him, carefully making sure he wasn’t walking into any trouble. “Everyone has always found it hard to breathe up here,” he explained as his head went from side to side, looking as if he was ready for an ambush. “That’s why everyone lives underground. It’s easier to breathe.”

“Can I ask what you were doing out here?” 

“That damn xenomorph, Clyde, got into the tunnels,” Tweek said as he began to relax a little more. “I chased him out and locked him into that box-thingy. Soon after, I heard you come down from the sky, so I hid on top of it. I wasn’t sure if you’d be dangerous like the others.”

It wasn’t long before it became dark and the freeway began to fork out. Tweek grabbed Craig’s wrist and led him towards the left.

“If you go right, you’ll run into robots,” Tweek mumbled.

“Robots?”

“Someone made them to look for that stupid time traveling thing you were talking about,” the blond nervously clung to his torch. “They’ve wiped out most of my tribe. I feel completely defenseless against them.” His body shook.

“Well, you’re safe around me,” the marine reassured him.

Tweek briefly smiled for a second. The two of them reached a small manhole. Tweek put out his torch and carefully pulled the manhole cover to the side and waited for Craig to go down the ladder first. Tweek pulled the cover over the entrance as the two got down. It was a small, cramped tunnel system, with only candles lighting the area.

“Welcome back, Tweek,” a semi-robotic voice spoke. Craig turned around to see a man in an orange hoodie, full of metal parts, lazily sitting on a couch full of holes and claw marks. He glared at Craig. “Who’s this?”

“This is Craig, he’s looking for the same thing everyone else is,” Tweek sounded annoyed as he began relighting some of the candles that went off. “Craig, this is Kenny. He’s a cyborg. It was all Stan’s idea to make him a cyborg because there was no other way he’d survive.”

The marine stood there in awe. “What happened?”

“Fucking robots were sent here to destroy the planet,” Kenny grumbled as he pulled out a lewd magazine. His eyes sifted through it as he stopped paying much attention to Craig. “If Stan wasn’t on our side, we would’ve been fucked.”

“Who’s Stan?” The marine asked, but nobody wanted to answer his question.

“The air is fresh down here,” Tweek reminded Craig. The marine slowly took off his respirator and Tweek grinned. “It’s so nice to finally see your face.”

The air wasn’t as breathable as it was on other planets, but it was still a huge difference to the decaying world that was above them. Craig took off his sweaty, heavy helmet, as well as his big backpack, and laid them both against the wall. He stretched his arms and shoulders. It felt so good to finally drop all that weight off. The cyborg looked at Craig’s gun for a few seconds before going back to the magazine full of scantily dressed women.

Tweek went by a refrigerator that was directly connected to a power generator. Inside was various raw meats that looked less than satisfying. Tweek asked if Craig was hungry, but he carefully declined the offer. 

“Do you know about the device?” Craig asked the cyborg. 

Kenny looked annoyed by his question. “If I knew where it was, I would’ve destroyed it.” He shrugged. “It’s nothing but trouble. I don’t think anyone should have the type of power to fuck with time. The fact so many people wasted their resources on this shit is scary.”

“What would you even do with it?” Tweek questioned anxiously as he poured himself some dirty looking coffee. He crawled up onto a hammock that hung from the walls loosely. 

“It’s not for me,” Craig told him. “It’s for the galactic government. They originally created it on another planet, but someone ran off with it onto this one.”

“What do you think they would do with a time machine?” Kenny scoffed. “Those fuckers only care about whatever planet they came from. Nobody cares about Lynx.”

“Maybe they could go back in time and restore your planet to its former glory,” the marine shrugged, unconcerned. “I don’t know what their plans are, it really doesn’t matter to me. All that matters is that I am able to get it back to them.”

“Riiiiight,” Kenny put down his magazine and got up from his chair. “You’re not the first guy in your uniform to be searching for this thing.”

“I’m aware.”

“They’ve been on a hunt for it long before Tweek or I were even born.”

“I know.”

“You think you can find it?” The cyborg chuckled.

Craig nodded. “I was hired to do so.”

Kenny rolled his eyes. “As if it even fucking exists...”


	2. Time to Leave the Capsule

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Craig and Tweek go back on land to explore. They meet others on the way.

Craig spent the night sleeping on Tweek’s hammock. All his gear, including his helmet and backpack, laid underneath him. He was finally comfortable in nothing but his boxers and tank top. His clothes were hung up to dry all the sweat out of them. 

Tweek and his cyborg friend had left the room for the stranger marine to sleep in private. There was long tunnel system that Craig hadn’t even seen half of. However, he wasn’t too worried about it. He was more worried about what Kenny had said. What if everything was lost and there was no point on hunting on this dry, hellhole of a planet?

The marine didn’t sleep very well. Most of the night, he pondered if everything would be pointless. He was far from home and he had no idea when he would be able to return. 

“Gah! Good morning,” Tweek clumsily stumbled in the room before making himself a cup of coffee. He used the same disgusting mug as he did before. The poor, ash covered blond, scratched his head nervously. “How did you rest?”

Craig shrugged as he dropped himself from the hammock. He began to put his armor back on.

“Don’t you think it’s a little hot to be wearing that?” Tweek questioned as he gave the marine an odd look. He was wearing the same dirty trousers he wore the day before. Craig wouldn’t have been surprised if Tweek never took them off to begin with.

“You said yourself that there’s killer robots out there,” Craig grunted as he buckled his belt. “Sometimes you have to deal with the heat.” It wasn’t very long before he had all his things back on. He couldn’t help but notice Tweek gazing at him the whole time.

“Where do you plan on going now?” The twitchy blond asked as he grabbed himself a small meal. 

“I guess I’ll just scan around for any strange frequencies,” Craig said as he checked the amount of rounds in his gun. It was always better safe than sorry. 

“You’re going to go out there alone?” Tweek couldn’t hide how anxious he was. Perhaps, he didn’t want to head out alone again. 

“I wouldn’t mind if you wanted to come along,” the marine told him with a friendly smile. It couldn’t cause any harm. Besides, Tweek knew Lynx better than Craig ever could. He could probably lead Craig around the safe areas.

“Why are you hiding your face?” 

“It’s a respirator,” Craig explained again as he fitted it comfortably again. Tweek may have been able to tolerate the disgusting air out there, but Craig couldn’t. 

Tweek quickly informed Kenny that he was leaving with Craig. There was no protest. Kenny agreed to watch over the tunnels and make sure nobody raided it. “Don’t worry,” he reassured Tweek. “If any fucker thinks they can get anything out of our tunnels, they’ll have to do it over my dead body.”

He was silent as the two men departed. The marine pulled out his frequency device and his blond friend stuck beside him. Tweek lit himself another torch once they got out. He explained to the marine that it was a good way to keep himself safe.

“You never know what will try to catch you off guard,” Tweek whispered with great concern. “You can’t just have your head down while looking at that screen.”

Craig sighed. “It’s not coming up with anything anyways.” He placed the device back in his pocket as he followed Tweek down an empty road. There weren’t even cars left on it. They wandered into an empty desert that seemed almost endless. Again, Craig began to sweat heavily.

“Wait a second,” Tweek suddenly stopped. He quickly stretched an arm in front of the marine, signaling him to stop. “Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

Tweek began running off the road and towards a van with busted tires. It was laying there in the sand, completely corroded away. As the marine approached it, he could hear messy chewing sounds from behind it.

“Gah!” Tweek jumped back.

“What?” Craig walked in front of him and looked. Underneath the shadow of the van, Clyde was relaxing, devouring an already decaying corpse. The alien looked at Craig for a brief second before going back to his meal. He must’ve remembered.

“Careful,” Tweek growled to Craig. “Those things can kill you. I think you should shot it right now and get this over with.”

“Why would I do that?”

Tweek glared at the marine. “Do you not see what he’s eating?!”

“I’ve seen worse in my years,” the marine scoffed coldly. He got down on his knees and held his hand out towards the creature.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m trying to see if he trusts me,” Craig answered calmly as the alien hesitatingly moved closer. “Sometimes the best way to get an animal familiar with you is to have them learn your scent.”

“Xenomorphs aren’t just any animal,” Tweek sneered as he backed away from the marine. “I’m ready to shove this torch in his face the second he tries to bite you.”

Clyde looked at Craig and slowly sniffed his armored hands. He stood there, on all fours, as his tail remained still.

“I think he remembers me,” Craig commented as he reached out and pet Clyde’s head. At first Clyde pulled away from his hand, but he quickly settled down. “I think he’s just about as hungry and confused as you are.”

“Or maybe he just can’t smell your flesh underneath your fancy space clothes,” Tweek rolled his eyes as he got closer. 

Craig noticed something strange. There was blood on Clyde’s arm that hadn’t been there the day before. It was definitely a bullet wound. He carefully reached over to the wound. Clyde hissed at him without showing his teeth. 

“What are you doing now?” Tweek was completely annoyed. “Those things are pests, you know that, right?”

The marine carefully removed the bullet from out of the alien’s arm. Clyde leaned over and placed his head on Craig’s chest as he reassured the creature that it would be okay. The whole time, Tweek paced around in circles, agitated.

“Wait,” Tweek suddenly burst out. “Is your frequency thing working properly? Shouldn’t it have detected him here?”

He had a good point. “Shit,” Craig muttered to himself. It wouldn’t have been the first time that it screwed him over. “Hey, Tweek, do you want to go into my backpack and fetch me some rope. I think I found you a new guard dog.”

“Guard dog?”

“Come over here and let him sniff you,” Craig insisted. “I won’t let him bite you.”

“No,” Tweek snapped at him. Clyde retracted from Craig’s arms defensively. “I’ve seen those things kill people. I’ve seen his kind devour any human that so much as looks at them.”

Craig went into his backpack and took out his rope himself. “Hold still,” the marine whispered as he carefully wrapped the rope around the alien, creating a makeshift leash. He looked back at Tweek. “Would you feel safer if you held the leash?”

“I’d feel safer if it had a muzzle,” Tweek snarled back. The alien glared at him as he snatched the rope out of Craig’s hands. He slowly reached out towards the creature. Craig held the back of his hand securely to reassure him that he’d be safe.

Clyde sniffed Tweek’s hand and looked at the marine. There was an understanding. He sat down and looked up as Craig got off the ground. “See, that wasn’t that bad, now was it?” Craig pat Tweek on the back.

Clyde followed along with the leash as Craig and Tweek went back towards the road. “Never stray from the roads if you can avoid it,” Tweek told Craig. “Always keep them in sight, because if you don’t, you can’t find your way back home.”

“Riiight,” Craig nodded as the two of them were approaching an old city that looked like it had been nuked. Not a single building was fully standing. 

“This is usually where I go on food runs,” The twitchy blond sputtered. “Sometimes you gotta be careful because other people come along and if they have guns, you better drop all your goods!”

Craig panicked. “You don’t think it could’ve been crushed when one of these buildings fell apart, right?”

“What was crushed?”

“The time-thing!” The marine shouted as Tweek tried to calm him down. “The device that I was sent to find- You don’t think that could’ve gotten crushed when these buildings collapsed in on themselves, right?”

“Craig, I honestly can’t answer that for sure. Like I said, I don’t know anything about it.”

Clyde began to jerk the leash towards one of the buildings. Tweek quickly yanked the rope back. The alien turned around and growled at him. 

“What’s his deal now?” Tweek panicked as the creature kept tugging on the leash. 

“I’ll investigate,” Craig ran in front of the crumbling building. He slowly slid through the broken door as Tweek and Clyde waited outside for his signal to come in. It looked like it used to be an office complex. The stairs were caved in and every window was broken. It wasn’t long before Craig heard shuffling in a room nearby. The marine quickly positioned himself beside the wall for cover. “Are you friendly?” He shouted towards the room.

“Well...eh, yeah, I’m pretty friendly,” a voice mumbled from the room.

“Shut up and let me do the talking next time, Butters!”

“Butters?” Craig recognized the name. He was another marine, but why would they send two? Did they assume Craig had died already? Perhaps they sent Butters before he even arrived.

“Oh, hey, Craig,” the young private could see Craig peering over the corner. “I wasn’t expecting you to be here.”

“Who’s beside you?” Craig quickly asked. There was a taller man with a green trapper hat and a welding mask on. He seemed less than thrilled to see another marine nearby. He looked ready to grab his gun at any moment.

“Well, uhhh...” Butters fidgeted his fingers against each other as his eyes looked around the room. Craig didn’t know what else to expect out of Butters. It was a wonder how a man who was such a push over could even be approved to become a marine. Although, Butters wasn’t the worst marine that Craig knew of. 

“The name is Kyle,” the tall stranger growled. “I would appreciate if you didn’t bother us.”

“What are you doing?” Craig snapped back at him.

“It’s confidential.”

“You’re looking for it too, aren’t you?”

“Well...uhhh...yeah,” Butters murmured quietly before Kyle glared daggers back at him. “It’s okay, Craig.”

“What business do you have looking for galactic property?” Craig sneered as he approached Kyle. 

“Don’t get close to me,” Kyle shouted at him. “It’s not here anyways.”

“Answer the question,” Craig pulled out his weapon after briefly flipping Kyle off. “There’s two against one here. All I’m asking is for an answer for a question. Quit being such a mysterious dick.”

“Let’s just say personal reasons,” Kyle didn’t seem phased by Craig’s threats.

“Do you know?” Craig asked Butters.

“No.”

“It’s very personal, I wouldn’t just go around telling every dumb marine I ran into.”

“Not even if you hard guns pointed against your head?” This was getting exhausting. Craig was ready to call Tweek in at any moment to see if he knew the guy. However, he knew he couldn’t trust Butters to make sure Kyle wouldn’t just make a run for it if his back was turned.

 

“My problems are far too complicated for a dumb soldier like you to possibly understand,” Kyle claimed as he walked behind Butters. “Besides, even if you understood, I doubt you’d change your mind. You’ve been brainwashed just like every other marine.”

“Try me.”

Kyle continued to rambled. “In fact, I’m willing to bet that I know more about this than either of you two!”

“Try me,” Craig said louder and more sternly.

“We are talking about the Standard Time Alternator and Nuclear Nanorover, right?” Kyle seemed less than impressed with Craig’s hesitation to respond. “I knew you didn’t know anything about this. If you don’t even know what the hell you’re looking for, how could you ever expect to find it?”

Butters nervously scratched the back of his neck. 

“Are you helping him find it?” Craig questioned. “The time alternator thing…?”

“Stand Time Alternator and Nuclear Nanonrover,” Kyle corrected him right away. How could this random stranger know more about this than a marine? There were so many questions Craig wanted to ask but he knew the dick wouldn’t answer them.

“He just...made some pretty good points,” Butters muttered, not looking Craig in the face.

Craig rolled his eyes. “Care to elaborate on that?”

“He knows more about this thing than anyone else. He was one of the people to actually design it and test that it works.” Butter sighed, he knew damn well he was going to get into serious trouble for backstabbing his fellow marines. “In fact, he’s the one who...uhhhh…”

“He’s the one who…?”

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Kyle shoved Craig out into the hallway. “I don’t have time for either of your bullshit.”

Craig quickly snatched Kyle’s wrist. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”

Kyle tried to pull away but simply couldn’t escape Craig’s tight grasp. “I’m getting the hell out of here so I can actually search somewhere I may find the nanorover.”

“Well, you’re not going anywhere until you answer my questions,” Craig insisted as he pinned Kyle against the ground. “Butters, can you grab some rope out of your backpack?”

“Well, uh, sure, but don’t you have your own?”

“It’s a long story,” Craig grumbled. “Hurry up and help me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowie, wow, wow, two chapters...? In one day? Me... actually possibly finishing a story...? It's more likely than you think.  
> Anyways, I hope the two or three people that actually read my stuff genuinely enjoy it. Goodnight lol I have work tomorrow.


	3. The Stars Look Very Different Today

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The marine confronts the stranger and finds out his history with the time device.

As the blond held the leash to the alien tightly, the lower ranking marine helped move the stranger with the mask against the wall. Craig stood in the center of the room as Tweek and Butters exchanged an uncomfortable introduction. The alien eventually stopped struggling and sat complacently beside the ash covered man. Tweek knelt down and gave him a quick pet.

The prisoner had his arms tied tightly behind his back. He was less than thrilled. He moved his legs close to his body, away from the alien who looked ready for his next meal.

“What is this nanorover thing?” Craig immediately demanded.

Kyle wouldn’t even look the man in the face. He glared at Clyde. “It’s a device capable of bending space and time. I thought we’ve been through this already.”

“Why do you want it for yourself?”

“Nobody should have that type of power,” Kyle snapped at the marine. “Can you imagine the amount of damage that time traveling can cause? Or do you not remember, Tweek?”

“How do you know my name?” The twitchy blond shouted as he clenched his pet closer to him. Clyde didn’t seem to mind surprisingly enough.

“You’ve used it before?” Craig questioned as he sat on one of the only desks left standing in the building. Butters leaned on the wall closest to it, pretending he had anything to add to the conversation.

Kyle finally perked his head up to look Craig in the eyes. “How else could we know that it worked?” His eyes focused on Tweek. “I’ve met you before. This was the planet we wanted to test it all on. Nobody gave a damn if anything happened to Lynx.”

Tweek angrily crossed his arms as his body continued its normal shaking. “How did we meet? How…?”

The odd man leaned back and relaxed. Finally, he accepted that he would have to explain everything. “There’s a lot to this, but I will try to give you the short version,” he coughed before clearing his throat. “When I first came here with the others, this planet was a lot different. You were different. You were just another civilian in another town – an actual, functioning, town that wasn’t covered in debris. Nobody on this planet had to breathe filthy air, it was basically an entirely different planet full of greens and water.”

“What did you do to fuck it up?” Tweek yelled impatiently, starling Clyde. 

“It wasn’t my idea,” Kyle rolled his eyes. “I wasn’t sure what the rover was capable of. It was my creation, but it was simply a test for if I could...”

“...if you could…?” Craig was growing just as agitated as Tweek was. The sweaty marine grabbed another sip of his water before filling the lid again for Clyde. 

“I wanted to see if I could create life,” Kyle finally spatted out. “I don’t mean a human life, but a robot. The rover was more than just a small little machine, it was responsive. It could hold conversations, and it learned off of everyone around it.”

“So it’s an artificial intelligence?” The seasoned marine asked as he took the now empty lid back for his thermos. 

Kyle nodded. “One day, it just froze everyone around me. I told him that I had to leave because my shift was over and suddenly, the two of us were the only thing moving.”

Tweek gave Craig an odd look. “...he…?”

“I...I really don’t like calling him an ‘it’ because he really is as complex as any human being out there,” Kyle said before continuing his story. “I went to my fat-ass of supervisor,” he groaned. “When I explained to him about how time was frozen for an hour, he didn’t believe me. So I asked the rover to do it in front of him. He was able to. Then the fucking smart ass decides to ask the rover if he can rewind time.”

“Aw, geez, I’m guessing he took you back in time after that,” Butters mumbled the obvious. 

“I don’t know how far back we went,” Kyle confessed. “All I know is that after that, the people from the past were instantly interested in him. They all wanted the power to travel in time. I had to run and get away from all of them. I even left the fat ass behind.” He let out a sigh. “When I asked to go back to current day, this planet was like how it is now.”

“You should have it, shouldn’t you?” Craig sneered at him. “How did you lose the rover?”

“He told me that when he got back, robots saw it and almost killed him,” Butters stepped up and explained. Finally, he was adding something to note of.

“The rover froze time again so that I could escape, but I simply wasn’t able to get him out of the robot’s tight metal grip,” Kyle explained. “I don’t know who’s robot it is or who it belonged to.”

“Wouldn’t that mean that someone could have their hands on the rover right now?” Tweek shouted, tightly holding up his little alien. “We might all be screwed! What if they make Lynx even worse than it currently is?”

“I suspect that the nanorover has been traveling back in time, all by himself, searching for me,” Kyle glared at Craig. “I would be trying to meet him halfway if I wasn’t tied up right now. He could still be with the robot.”

“Which robot?” Tweek hastily asked. “I’ve seen a lot of them.”

“It looked like it was almost human, I’ll tell you that much,” Kyle grumbled. “Mind undoing the knots around my arms now? My arms are getting sore.”

Craig knelt down and helped Kyle out of the ropes. There wasn’t much reason to keep him in there very much longer. Kyle seemed to know a lot more about this than both marines in the room combined. 

“I’ll be off then,” Kyle tried to weasel his way out again, but Craig quickly grabbed him by the neck again. “What gives?”

“If there’s a dangerous world full of scary robots out there, don’t you think you need some help,” Craig scoffed. “Besides, I don’t want to come back empty handed.”

Kyle was getting ready to come back with a smart ass response, but ended up just keeping his mouth shut. The group left the building together. Kyle took the lead as Butters sputtered random nonsense at him. Everything the young marine said went through one ear out the other. Craig and Tweek, who followed behind, didn’t seem to mind much. Although, Tweek seemed like he had something on his mind. His facial expression wasn’t the normal, paranoid face that he usually made. Something about Tweek looked concerned, sad, and overall guilty. Perhaps, he was thinking about how destroyed his home planet had become.

Craig reached over and rested his left hand over Tweek’s empty hand. “It’ll be alright,” he whispered quietly as Tweek squeezed his hand. 

“How do you know where you’ll find it?” Butters questioned.

Kyle sighed. “I really can’t know for sure. I’m just searching the places we’ve been together. I wasn’t sure if he was going to try to meet me in one of the old offices.”

As the group left the collapsing city, they were met with another fork in the road. Tweek insisted that going right was a bad idea. “That’s where all those violent robots come from,” he mumbled.

“Maybe he’s still with the robot,” Butters had a stupid smirk on his face. “Anyways, I’m sure four of us can handle some stupid machines.”

Kyle stretched out his arms. “It’s getting a little dark right now. Why don’t we set up camp here and head there tomorrow?”

Butters worked on some makeshift tents with Kyle as Tweek started a fire to cook some rations that Craig had on him. Clyde nervously circled the fire, keeping his distance. It wasn’t long before Kyle left Butters alone so that he could look for better food. The young marine was able to make the tents shelter worthy and decided to lay in one.

“What’s it like being able to travel across the galaxy?” Tweek asked as he gazed at the stars. The marine sat close to him and looked up at the three moons.

“It really depends what planet I visit,” Craig chuckled to himself. “Some planets are full of beautiful sites and creatures, while others...”

“Are like mine?”

Craig felt bad. “Not everything about Lynx is bad,” he tried to backpedal his statement. “When I flew down in my space shuttle, it looked beautiful. I think the view here is nice.”

“Are you saying Lynx is only pretty from a distance?” Tweek giggled as he leaned against his friend.

“Almost anything is pretty from a distance,” the marine told him. “Although, once I saw a planet somewhat like yours, but a lot less well lit. I thought it was awful. I wanted to go back to my barracks and go anywhere else. However, on the last day of the mission, I found the caverns.”

“Caverns?”

Craig placed down his backpack and dug into it. He pulled out a shiny purple geode and handed it to the blond. He smiled at the completely mesmerized look on Tweek’s face. “Imagine a whole tunnel system that looked like that,” he whispered to his friend. 

“Hey, don’t let that burn,” Kyle rushed in, to quickly take Craig’s rations off of the fire pit. He had something slumped over his shoulders. Suddenly, Clyde began making wailing, hissing noises at him. Kyle almost drew his pistol.

“I got him,” Craig quickly grabbed the creature and held it against his armor tightly. Clyde continued to snarl at Kyle as he tried to claw his way out of Craig’s grasp. His claws weren’t sharp enough to penetrate the metal armor. 

“What’s going on?” Butters ran out of his tent.

Kyle scoffed to himself as he finally placed an alien like Clyde onto the ground. It was full of gunshot wounds. He grabbed a knife from out of his pocket and began to cut it. “I just brought food,” he sneered as he placed pieces of meet into a little pot and put it over the fire. “You’re welcome,” he said sarcastically to Craig.

With one hand, Craig began trying to feed Clyde with his rations, but the animal was too distraught. He tried petting him, to calm him down, but he wasn’t successful. “Thanks,” Craig muttered quietly as he waited for Clyde to stop squirming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm actually writing stuff! Ayy.. Anyways, hope whoever is reading this enjoys. I think this chapter is a little shorter than the last two, but the next few should make up for it.


	4. Sitting in a Tin Can

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Craig and the others explore the city of robots and finally make a discovery.

Craig had to wait until everyone finished their meals before he could eat with Clyde. Butters and Kyle didn’t hesitate to sleep in their tents after they ate. Tweek stayed and watch as Craig ate his cold rations. The marine didn’t mind being watched, in fact, he enjoyed the company. His eyes were focused on the alien that crept over the corpse that Kyle had dropped. Clyde laid against the skin and bones that were carefully cut out. He wasn’t growling anymore. He was silent.

“I’m guessing that was one of his family,” Craig muttered as he dug a reusable plastic fork into his can of goods. “Poor thing doesn’t know what’s going on.”

Tweek sighed. “I can’t feel bad for a xenomorph. I’ve seen those things attack without mercy.” He got up and walked towards his tent. “Goodnight, Craig,” he said with a meek smile.

“Goodnight, Tweek,” the marine said back. He didn’t sleep in a tent. He stayed beside the mourning alien and eventually passed out on the sand. When Craig woke up by the blinding sun, his companion was curled up against him. He reached his arms out and stretched. 

The others took a while to wake up. Craig found himself waiting a very long time before anyone stepped out of their tent. First Kyle, then Butters, and lastly Tweek. The twitchy blond complained that he didn’t carry any coffee on him. Nobody paid much attention to his complaints. Instead, the group carried on towards the right. Craig had Clyde’s rope tied around his gun holster. He didn’t want to actively waste a hand to grip onto the leash, but he also feared the alien being frightened again. Kyle kept his distance from the alien. He claimed it was going to attack him at any moment.

The heat got worse and worse as they approached a small, dismantled cites. Surprisingly, there were large, industrial towers, still standing tall. They looked completely out of place, as if they had never been attacked. Tweek pointed out the old sidewalks that were covered in tire marks. There were dissembled vehicles everywhere, not one piece wasn’t taken for scrap.

Tweek had his torch out, as always. He was careful not to accidentally burn Craig with it. “See that bloody trail by the old post office? That’s where Kenny got jumped.”

Kyle was oddly silent as he used crumbled walls as cover. He seemed more paranoid than ever. “I’ve been here too,” he said quietly. “I almost got killed here.”

Clyde stayed close to Craig, keeping as far away from Kyle as he could. The alien sniffed at the dried blood on the street. Tweek nervously reached over and grabbed Craig’s hand. “It usually isn’t this quiet,” he whispered softly.

“You’re right, it usually isn’t,” a feminine voice cracked out from above. The group looked all around, trying to spot it. “You know it isn’t safe around these parts.”

“Reveal yourself!” Craig shouted out.

“I wouldn’t be too loud,” the voice sneered back. “You never know what type of attention you’ll attract.”

“She’s right,” Kyle muttered to the marine. Craig saw a shadow run over one of the few standing buildings. He went to investigate, but was quickly stopped by Kyle. “Let her go, it’s the least of our worries.”

Craig anxiously followed Kyle as they moved as a group. Every now and then, they’d hear something following them. Clyde would make a growling noise and Tweek would try to silence him. It wasn’t long before Craig felt pounding behind him.

“Fuck,” Kyle quickly went under the frame of a ransacked car as something approached the group.

“What is your business here?” A robotic, yet girly, voice growled at the group. She didn’t even give anyone a chance to respond. Once Clyde let out a growl, the robot quickly drew a rifle and shot the alien twice in the leg. Craig rushed to shield the creature. The bullets merely dented his armor. It hurt, but it didn’t break skin.

“Gah! Save yourselves,” Tweek shouted as ran out of sight. Craig wanted to go after him, but was stuck defending Clyde. The poor alien squealed in pain.

“Do something,” Craig screamed at the others.

The inexperienced marine slowly aimed his small pistol at the figure in the distance. “Well, here goes nothing,” Butters mumbled quietly as he pulled the trigger. The bullet missed, but it caught her attention. She began to fire towards him instead.

Craig quickly got up and began firing at the robot immediately. She fled before he could do any serious damage. However, he knew for sure he got some bullets to strike.

“Oh hamburgers,” Butters dropped to the floor. Craig turned around and saw the blood running down the young marine’s unprotected hands. Some of her bullets managed to pierce through the armor around his legs. “I don’t think I can walk, Craig.”

“This is why you don’t shout in a city full of dangerous machinery,” Kyle snarled as he got up. “I hope you two carry first aids on you. That blood will just attract more of them.”

Clyde limped closer to Craig. The alien whined and cried while licking his own wounds. The marine picked him up and placed him over his shoulder.

“You’re still worried about that stupid xenomorph?” Kyle snapped. “Un-fucking-believable!” 

Craig slowly moved over to Butters and tried to help him bandage up his wounds. The younger marine brought a pretty heavy first aid full of bandages. Unfortunately, Craig wasn’t able to pull out all of the bullets from Butters or Clyde’s legs. As he wrapped the alien in gauze, Clyde kept trying to bite at them.

“Hurry up,” Kyle complained as Craig and Butters were finishing up. “I think we’re close to were I lost the rover.” He began to turn left at an old intersection. Surprisingly, the traffic lights were standing, crookedly. Butters was right behind Kyle. He walked with a slight hobble.

“Wait.”

“Oh now what?” Kyle groaned as he saw Craig turning to the right. “That’s not the right way.”

“It’s the way that Tweek ran,” Craig growled back. 

Kyle rolled his eyes. “Come on, Butters, let’s find the rover.” Butters hesitated to open his mouth, but ultimately decided to keep it shut and follow Kyle. There wasn’t a single protest. The marine wander on his own, with his alien companion riding on his shoulders.

“Tweek?” He called out. He continued to call out his friend’s name as he got deeper into the debris. Craig saw a bloody trail and quickly ran after it. The footsteps led to a shattered window. The marine quickly hoisted himself and Clyde into the building.

The old house was almost completely bare. The walls weren’t painted, there was no furniture other than a small couch covered in blood, and there wasn’t a single light. Craig chose his steps carefully as he quietly approached the couch. He could only assume someone, or something, was hiding behind or underneath the couch. He was hoping his friend wasn’t too far away.

“Don’t step any closer,” an unfamiliar voice called out. An odd figure appeared from behind the couch. It was a man with a tight black clothes with glowing blue over them. There was something about him that felt off. Craig couldn’t see any wounds on the man, so the blood couldn’t have been from him.

“Hello, I mean you know harm,” Craig quickly tried to explain. “I am looking for a blond guy covered in war paint and ashes. His name is Tweek and he usually carries a long torch.”

“I’ve met Tweek before,” the figure mumbled. “I, however, have not met you before. Who are you?”

“I’m Craig Tucker,” the marine explained to the stranger his full story. He told him about the robot that had attacked them.

“You’re looking for a rover?” He sneered. He almost laughed when Craig nodded. “Of course, Kyle told you he was looking for a rover.”

“What’s so funny?”

“It’s nothing you would understand.”

“I’m guessing you know Kyle too.”

The stranger nodded with a smirk. “Craig, if you could bring me over to Kyle, I’d be really grateful. I was worried the sun got to him.”

“I have to find Tweek first,” Craig told him.

“Hang on a second,” the figure sighed and then everything stopped. Craig couldn’t move any inch of his body as he watched the stranger leave the room. He panicked as he was stuck in place, unable to move, talk, or do anything but he stuck with his racing thoughts. It felt like an entirety before the stranger drug Tweek back. Finally, Craig could move again.

“What…?” Tweek looked around. He quickly ran to Craig, panicking with a million questions to ask. “Craig, where are we? What happened to Clyde? How did I get here? I swear I was just hiding underneath a dumpster and-”

“Tweek, it’s me,” the stranger said with a smile.

“Stan, I haven’t seen you in so long,” Tweek sounded so remorseful, yet oddly calm. “I thought you died. I should’ve known you were okay, I couldn’t find a corpse anywhere.”

“Stan?” Craig repeated. “You helped out Kenny, right?”

“I’ve helped a lot of people,” Stan said sarcastically. “You don’t get it, do you?”

“Get what?” The marine growled as he pet Clyde gently. The alien whimpered quietly as Tweek reached out to hold him and give Craig’s shoulders a break.

“Kyle went out to our left, didn’t he?” Stan questioned. “Is it safe out there? Or are there more of those robots that shoot on sight?”

“I’ve only seen one.” Craig commented as he held Tweek’s hand. 

“One is enough to make me worry,” Stan told him. “I do have a trick up my sleeve. Although, I guess it’s not really a surprise now.”

The four of them left the building. “What trick?” Craig asked, but Stan didn’t answer. They all walked past the intersection that Craig got separated at. Eventually, they spotted Butters and Kyle, completely still, mid-walk. 

“Kyle!” Stan shouted as they suddenly began moving again. Kyle turned around as he was greeted with a very tight, more-than-just-friends hug. “I can’t believe it took you this long to finally find me.” 

Tweek pulled Craig a little closer to him, as if he was a little jealous. Craig didn’t mind at all. Clyde squirmed in Tweek’s arms as Craig wrapped around Tweek comfortably. The marine wasn’t used to someone wanting to be his center of attention this badly.

“I think you found me,” Kyle murmured as he continued to hold Stan close. The two completely ignored Tweek and Craig. They were too busy admiring each other. 

Stan noticed the wounds on Butters. “Wait a second, I have an idea.”

“What’s that?” Craig opened his mouth to ask. He blinked his eyes and he was back in his shuttle. He looked around. “Tweek?” He called out. Suddenly, it happened again. Craig couldn’t move an inch. He tried to call out for help, but he was stuck by the exit of his shuttle for a solid minute.

When he was finally able to step out, he heard shouting from a distance. “Craig!” The voice called over and over again. Craig ran towards it and found Tweek right where they met. Tweek had opened up the truck’s box and Clyde quickly ran into his arms. The gunshot wounds were gone. “What the hell happened? I swear we-”

Nobody could move again. Craig could feel the sun baking his skin again, but he couldn’t move into the shade or drink his water. 

“...were just in the old Delta city,” The twitchy ashed covered blond looked around anxiously as his alien comfortably laid in his arms. “I should’ve probably told you that Stan could control time. I just didn’t want to disappoint you because I honestly thought he died. I guess he probably just went back in time. The man can teleport too.”

“I am so confused,” The marine mumbled.

“Why don’t we use your spaceship to fly around and look for the others?” Tweek suggested, full of excitement. Craig could tell that he just wanted an excuse to fly around, which he wasn’t too opposed of. 

Craig agreed to the blond’s idea and the two walked back to the shuttle, holding hands. Craig gave Tweek the full tour and Tweek seemed oddly impressed by every shiny gadget inside. Clyde curled up in Tweek’s lap as the shuttle lifted off the ground. They rode towards the first, decaying city, where the two had met Kyle. Neither of them saw any signs of Kyle, Butters, or Stan.

“It feels so nice,” Tweek had his face piratically shoved into the air conditioning vents as he rode.

The two flew over the city of robots. “Hang on,” Craig looked down before the entire shuttle shook. Something shot up at them. “Fuck,” he shouted as he failed to get away from the danger. The bullets pierced through the engine and the shuttle began to plummet. Tweek tightly grasped onto Clyde as he started screaming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two?? In one day??? Again??   
> OK but wow Im actually commited to writing a full story so that's nice.


	5. And There's Nothing I Can Do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The shuttle plummets into the city and Craig has to create a new plan.

The shuttle had made a pretty piss poor landing. Its bent nose, laid into the roof of a half totaled complex. The rear was held up by a similar, but slightly more sturdy and larger building. The ship was an an uncomfortable angle that felt as if the marine and his companions would fall through the windshield at any moment. Craig was careful as he left the driver’s seat to check on Tweek. His feet were actively fighting the gravity pulling him backwards, towards the console. Craig’s hands tightly gripped the handles of Tweek’s seat. His sheer arm muscles were all that held him up.

“Tweek?” He called out to no response. Tweek was knocked out cold. He looked down, there was no sign of Clyde anywhere. The alien must’ve either fled, or been shoved out the windshield. There was blood on the glass shattered around the console.

Suddenly, the shuttle began to shift as the building holding the nose up simply couldn’t handle the weight. Craig struggled to continue to hold him and his friend up as the complex collapsed and the nose hit ground-level. Suddenly, Craig felt himself sliding back into the console. If it wasn’t for his armor, he would’ve been seriously injured. He made sure his blond friend didn’t feel the harsh impact.

The marine quickly used his the butt of his gun to hit and shove any last remains of the windshield before he rushed to Tweek. He hoisted his friend over his shoulder as the gravity quickly pulled him back down. He slowly stepped over the dash and console, making sure that the blond wasn’t cut by any stray glass. Carefully, Craig was able to squeeze through the narrow windshield and he slipped down the nose of the shuttle, into the shallow frame of where a building once stood. 

He kept Tweek slumped over his shoulder as he looked for a place to put him down. There was so much glass everywhere, from both the old windows of the house and the windshield. The marine saw blood all over the glass to his left, it made a trail that led out into the streets. He leaned out the door to see if it was realistic to follow it or not, but the trail went pretty far into the unprotected streets. Craig decided to run across the street and into an alley way. He placed the unconscious blond against a dumpster as he tried to think of what to do.

He quickly pulled out his radio, skimming channels, hoping that Butters would be on one of them. No matter how much he changed frequencies, it seemed as if there was nothing but static. It almost felt as if something was interfering with it.

“Tweek, come on,” Craig cried out as he shook the blond firmly. “I don’t think we’re safe here. Tweek, please wake up.” He got no response, but at least he was breathing.

He looked around for if there was anything he could do, anything he could use. The marine had never felt so unprepared, under trained, and overall shitty in his entire life. There was nothing but trash, broken bricks, and other debris that wouldn’t do him any good.

Craig decided to take off his respirator and tightly fit in to Tweek’s face. He coughed at the disgusting air that he breathed in. His lungs began to feel heavy and strained, how Tweek’s must’ve felt every day. He could hear Tweek breathing pretty heavily through the mask. 

“Craig,” Tweek’s eyes fluttered for a second or two. “I can’t breathe,” he mumbled. He must’ve been lacking oxygen. It wasn’t like the air on the planet was good enough to begin with.

“You’re breathing right now,” Craig knelt down close as he had a small smile from pure relief. His hands gently rested on Tweek’s shoulders. “Just keep inhaling and exhaling.”

“I can actually see your face,” Tweek moaned as he shifted himself into Craig’s arms. “I liked the flight,” he laughed before coughing a little. “Too bad it ruined your space ship.”

“I’m not very worried about it right now. We’ll get to that bridge later,” The marine reassuringly embraced his companion as he laid his head over the blond’s filthy, ashed covered hair. “Just focus on breathing, Tweek.”

The two spent a few minutes in the alleyway, catching their breaths. Once Tweek seemed like he was fully awake and ready to leave, the two got up. He quickly removed the respirator. “Craig, do you want this? I know you don’t like the air.”

The marine sighed as he took it back in his hands. “Are you sure you don’t want to keep wearing it. I’m sure you’ve noticed a huge difference wearing it.”

The twitchy blond frowned. “This is all normal for me and anyone else who’s lived on Lynx, but it’s clearly not for you. I can handle it.”

Craig refitted the respirator to his face before he wrapped his hand around Tweek’s hand. He felt his companion lovingly squeeze his hand back.

“Where’s Clyde?” Tweek asked as the two walked to the end of the alleyway.

“I can only suspect he’s the one who left the blood trail,” Craig told him. “I didn’t want to follow it and get you shot if you were still over my shoulder.” Tweek looked up at the space shuttle in front of them. “Don’t worry about it,” Craig led him towards the trail.

The two were very cautious as they moved. Both of them planned where they would find cover if they were fired at again. Tweek remained very close to the marine, but it was clear that he liked Craig for more than just the protection. Craig appreciated his affection, it was different from anything he had dealt with in the past. At least there was something good to come out of this mission.

As they got further up the trail, they could hear the loud, painful squeals and cries of their alien friend from inside an old woodshed. Craig noticed an unfamiliar figure and signaled Tweek not to go in. The two lent against the entrance. Tweek stayed behind the door, waiting for the queue that it was okay to move, while the marine peeked through the doorway.

He couldn't recognize the woman who had knelt down to comfort the alien. She had blond hair and a thick, metal backpack that seemed to be attached to a weapon. “It’ll be alright,” as she spoke, Craig knew it was the robot that had ambushed them not too long ago. She didn’t appear hostile this time.

“Hello?” Craig shouted into the doorway. He caught her attention. “Please don’t fire,” he quickly went back into cover. “We’re friendly if you are.”

“Who are you?” The robot held Clyde up as she stepped out of the doorway. It was almost as if she didn’t remember anything that happened. Her eyes scanned Craig. “I haven’t seen a marine with your uniform in a very long time.”

“Gah,” Tweek popped out from the corner. “Craig, be careful.” He felt completely defenseless without his primitive torch. “Don’t forget this is the robot that attack us!”

“I never attacked anyone who didn’t deserve it,” the robot growled back. “Only wild creatures or anyone tried to attack me first. I wasn’t even built for combat!”

“You weren’t?” Tweek let down his guard as he leaned his body against Craig’s. The marine wrapped his arm around him.

“No, I was built to scout for a program that can bend time itself,” she looked at Craig. “I’m guessing that’s why you were sent here too. My name is Bebe.”

“Bebe, I’m Craig Tucker, and this is Tweek,” Craig told her as they all shook hands. Bebe was careful not to drop Clyde from her arms.

“How did you think of the name Clyde?” She asked before Craig was able to properly introduce the alien.

The marine turned to Tweek, curious as well. “Well,” The twitchy blond bit his lip. “The guys I lived with usually named pests that got into our tunnels often. Clyde would sneak into them all the time and he’s significantly smaller than any other xenomorph I’ve ever seen.”

“How did you know his name?” Craig quickly asked before his companion said any more.

“He told me,” Bebe said to him as she pet the injured alien. He softly whimpered into her arms. “I’m guessing humans probably can’t understand other animals.”

“We actually saw you before,” Craig decided to explain everything that happened. She was shocked to hear about how she had shot Clyde before Stan reset everything. He went into detail about how he had met up with Kyle and Butters. The four of them ended up circling back to Craig’s totaled ship that had shifted, flat on the ground. 

“I’m sorry,” Bebe apologized. She didn’t have much to add to the story since she couldn’t remember it. “I was actually sent to return the device, or Stan, to my creator. She said she wanted to deal with it...or him.”

“Who?”

“Wendy,” Bebe smirked. “She wanted me to bring her the device so that she could make sure nobody would mess up time again. She didn’t want all planets to end up like Lynx.”

The marine crossed his arms. “Everyone and everything wants to find him, don’t they?”

Bebe nodded. “The ability to alter time to your needs is pretty nice, although it could destroy a planet like Lynx. We’ve noticed that the planet is the only thing affected by him. When time freezes, it doesn’t stop the sun from roasting your skin, because the sun isn’t effected. The planet may spin backwards, but it doesn’t alter the sun. No other planets move backwards, only Lynx.”

Tweek gave Craig a confused look. The marine shrugged in response.

“My point is that this planet is doomed,” Bebe elaborated. “Every time that anyone alters time in any way, they are actively destroying the planet. It’s to the point where there is barely anything protecting us from the sun. I’m sure you humans can feel that better than I can. I’m built so I won’t over heat.”

Craig crossed his arms. “What did you plan on doing with Stan?”

“I have to destroy him,” Bebe explained. “There is no other way to prevent him from destroying the planet any further than it has been. If you can lead me to him, I will do it myself.”

“Stan has helped me and Kenny before,” Tweek whispered to Craig anxiously. “He used to live with us in the tunnels. He was a lot closer to Kenny than he was with me, though.” He sighed. 

“Can you give us a moment?” Craig asked as the robot nodded. He pulled Tweek away from her and held him close. The two were only a lips distance away from each other. “Tweek, all my life I have done nothing but take orders, as a marine. This is the first mission where I don’t know who’s orders to take and what the right thing to do is.” His fingers relaxed around the blond’s shoulders. “Here are our options,” Craig pointed out as his stern look became slightly sorrowful. “I can do what I was sent here to do, load Stan up into a shuttle and take him back to my barracks for the Inter-Galactic Government to handle him...”

“...but your space ship crashed,” Tweek murmured.

“We have a time machine,” Craig awkwardly chuckled to himself. “However, Stan would have to be willing to go, and I’m guessing he wouldn’t be willing to leave Kyle’s side again.”

“What would your government even do with him?”

“I...I don’t know,” Craig sighed as his eyes looked around. “They may try to use him to rewind some wars they’ve lost on other planets. Maybe they’ll cause just as much damage to the other planets in this galaxy as they did to Lynx. I honestly don’t know if they would abuse his powers or not.”

Tweek fidgeted his filthy, blond hair as his body began to twitch even more. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea, Craig.”

“Well,” Craig looked back at Bebe. “Another thing we can do is the robot’s plan. We can bring her to Stan and kill him before he causes your planet anymore turmoil.”

“That doesn’t seem very fair to Stan,” Tweek bit his thumb. 

“If we don’t, Lynx is as good as gone,” Craig reminded his friend. He tried to relax Tweek with a reassuring shoulder massage. “We can try to find Kyle and talk to him about another solution, but I don’t think that’s the most realistic option we have on our plate.”

Tweek looked down at his tattered boots, then back at the marine. He was biting his tongue, nervously thinking of how to respond. “This is too much pressure,” he mumbled as he tightly held onto the marine’s sun-kissed armor.

“I don’t know where to go from here,” Craig told him. “That’s why I’m giving you the choice of what I should do. This is your planet, Tweek. What do you want to do with it?”

“You’re asking a lot out of me,” Tweek shouted, before he was reminded that Bebe wasn’t too far.

Craig wrapped his hands around Tweek’s cheeks. “I know I am, honey, but-”

“You called me honey,” Tweek murmured in a loving tone. He let out an uncomfortable sigh. His forehead pressed against the marine’s hat. “I love Lynx, sure it’s ugly, but it’s home.” Craig could feel his friend shaking against him. “I can’t imagine the day I would wake up and this planet would be no more. I don’t think I would be anything without Lynx. I can’t imagine leaving Kenny behind in this mess...” 

“So are you saying we’re going to pursue killing Stan?” Craig asked him.

Tweek shut his eyes. “I don’t want to be the one who does.”

“That’s what Bebe is here for,” Craig reassured him. “I’ll just lure him out and she will get him. We won’t have anything to worry about and you don’t have to feel guilty.”

“What about your space ship?” Tweek questioned. “How will you leave Lynx and go back to your home planet?”

“I don’t know, there’s nothing I can do to fix something that damaged. If I’m lucky, Butters will fly me back to the barracks with his shuttle.”

Tweek frowned. “I guess we know what we have to do then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Funny story, right...? Uh, I woke up at 4AM randomly and just began hacking this shit out. I got about six or so pages in before I realized I had to get ready for work- LIKE FUCK. So when I was finally able to get home? Boom, here ya go. This took me longer than I wanted it to, but who cares?   
> I hope whoever is reading this enjoys, I will probably have all 11 (assuming that is still my plan) chapters out before April. Comments are alaaaaaaaaaaaaaawys appreciated. 
> 
> Oh also, just a dumb observation, I noticed that my most popular story was my Imp Tweek x Pastor Craig fanfic. I've also noticed anything with Creek garners a lot more interest than anything else. Not that I'm complaining, I'm just stating the obvious, that my dumbass JUST noticed. 
> 
> I wanted to add Style to the tags, but I fear it just spoils the plot and shit. Soooooooo that's what I meant about keeping my big fat mouth shut.


	6. Don't Say It's True

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Craig knows what must be done.

The marine knew what had to be done. He wandered with Tweek and Clyde, looking around for Stan or Kyle. Bebe followed, keeping a good distance between them. The blond’s hand grasped Craig’s tightly as they traveled through an ugly sandstorm. Clyde rode on Tweek’s shoulders, making the occasional whimper.

There was a whole planet to explore and so many deteriorating cities to search. Craig was convinced it was almost impossible to find what they were searching for. Once the storm had finally settled, Craig pulled out his radio, it was a lot more clear. It wasn’t long before he got a response from Butters. The inexperienced marine was with both Kyle and Stan. They wanted to look for Craig and Tweek, but decided to set up camp in one of the few remaining towers because of the aggressive sandstorm.

It didn’t take long for Tweek and Craig to approach the tower. Bebe patiently waited outside the door as she was left behind. Both the marine and the robot wanted to avoid causing any huge conflicts unless they really had to. As Craig followed Tweek and Clyde up a flight of stairs, he could only think about what he would do next. There would be no easy way to handle this. 

“Aw geez, I thought you guys wouldn’t make it,” Butters mumbled as the three entered the room. He looked at the limping alien that comfortably positioned himself on Tweek’s lap. “What happened?”

“Tweek and I tried to fly over the city and see if we could find you, but we got shot down.” Craig sighed. He didn’t want to reveal too much. It was far too early. He could feel Kyle glaring at him as Stan sat in the corner, blissfully unaware of what would come next.

“I saw something crash earlier,” Stan mumbled with his face pressed against the window. “I guess it was your ship. If you want, we can go back and-”

“Don’t bother,” Craig quickly shouted. There was no way he was going to do all that walking. He could tell Tweek was only getting more worried by the second. Perhaps it was already too late for Lynx. It didn’t matter either way, Craig wanted to give Tweek’s planet a fighting chance to survive. 

Stan cocked his head. “Okay.” 

He seemed a tad bit annoyed, almost as if he knew what they were up to. Craig didn’t want to cause a scene or reveal anything, just in case he wasn’t actually aware. He had no idea what Stan was capable of.

“I see you brought the Xenomorph back with you,” Kyle groaned as he took a seat besides Butters. “I guess if we get hungry, we have our meal right here.”

Clyde snarled back at Kyle. Tweek quickly held the beast down and covered his mouth. The alien squirmed in his arms, ready to snap at Kyle at any second. Craig sat beside Tweek and rested his hand over Clyde’s head, in a cheap effort to calm him down.

“What are your plans now?” Craig impulsively asked Kyle. “You and Stan are back together. I can’t help but wonder what you two want to do.”

Kyle bit his lip. “I was actually considering going back and fixing some of my mistakes.”

“Then you risk altering everything,” Tweek nervously rubbed against the marine besides him and he clenched his pet tightly. “Aren’t you afraid of causing more damage?”

“Lynx can’t get any worse than it is currently,” Kyle scoffed.

“Can I talk to Stan alone?” Craig tried his hardest to seem as normal as possible. Everyone’s eyes were on him. 

Kyle glared at the marine. “I don’t think that’s-”

“Sure.” Stan shrugged. The two of them left the room and Craig led him down the steps. “What did you want to talk about?”

Sweat ran down the marine’s forehead. “How did you know Tweek?” He tried to think of anything to distract Stan with.

“Tweek actually took down this big robot that wouldn’t let go of me. Him and Kenny both did a lot of damage,” Stan explained. “Sadly, when the big robot let go of me, it actually crushed Kenny to death. I re-winded time about four or five times just so that bastard wouldn’t kill Kenny.”

“I heard you turned Kenny into a cyborg,” Craig mumbled as he opened the front door wide open for Stan. Something in his chest caused him great pain, but he did his best to ignore it.

“I helped use some of the parts to replace some shattered limbs,” Stan told the marine as he stepped out. “I wouldn’t say that-”

Suddenly three bullets shot up through Stan’s chest. He dropped to the floor and time froze again. Stan attempted to crawl as Craig could only watch. Bebe didn’t seem affected at all, she continued to fire at him. Every bullet struck through him as black blood spit all over the ground. In the blink of an eye, Craig was back in the door way, watching Stan get shot again and again. Finally, Stan was done fighting. The poor man’s head dropped.

“My purpose has been fulfilled,” Bebe told Craig as she grabbed Stan’s cold corpse. “Thank you, Craig.”

The marine rushed back up the stairs, being met by odd looks. Kyle immediately asked where Stan was. Craig failed to come up with a proper answer. The marine quickly grabbed Tweek and shoved him out the door as Kyle took aim. Clyde quickly darted down the stairs, ahead of all of them.

“You mother fucker,” Kyle screamed as he shot a bullet into Craig’s shoulder pad. It didn’t manage to break through his armor. “What did you do to him? What the hell did you do?”

“Aw hamburgers, you really did it now, Craig,” Butters mumbled as he quickly took cover underneath a desk. He was the least of Kyle’s worries.

The angry man darted after the marine and his two, close companions as they dashed down each step. He quickly fired another bullet into Craig’s boot, causing him to lose balance and trip down the stairs. The twitchy blond rushed to help him up. Kyle pulled the trigger again, hitting Tweek’s arm. He screamed in pain as Craig forced him to keep running with him. 

“You killed him, didn’t you?” Kyle shouted as the two sprinted out the door of the tower. He wasn’t very far behind them and Craig could only move so quickly due to Tweek limping. 

“I had good reason,” The marine shouted as he shoved Tweek in front of him, shielding the blond as the bullets hit the armor on his back.

“Bullshit-” Kyle looked down at the black blood that stained the ground beneath him. Tears rolled down his cheeks. “Oh, Stan,” he cried as he knelt down and buried his face into his hands. “I can’t believe I let this happen to you.”

Tweek looked back and whispered to Craig. “Ack, I think we messed up.”

The marine held him close as the alien stayed by their feet. “We have to get out of here before he opens fire again,” he told the ash covered man in warpaint. “Let’s go back to your tunnels and find out what to do from there.”

Tweek understood and nodded. The two tried to move as fast as possible without straining themselves as they left Kyle to mourn his old companion. Craig felt bad about what he did, but there was nothing he could do to alter the past now. Not only did he burn his bridges with Kyle, but he disobeyed orders as a marine. He could never go back to the barracks. It didn’t matter anyways, he didn’t have a shuttle to go back.

It seemed like ages before Tweek brought Craig back to the manhole that they had entered before. He slowly opened the entrance as Craig went down the ladder, with Clyde tightly clinging to his backpack. Tweek followed, closing the manhole as they went down.

“Who’s this?” Kenny abruptly asked as he saw the marine. He didn’t seem to remember anything. He glared at Clyde and quickly pulled out a rifle.

“Wait,” Tweek grabbed Clyde. “This is Craig,” he sputtered hastily. “He’s a marine and I helped him find the time travel device.”

“Why are you protecting that fucker?” Kenny demanded, completely ignoring Craig, as well as Tweek’s botched introduction of him.

“He’s friendly,” Tweek explained as he let Clyde on the floor. The alien quickly hid behind him and hissed at the rifle that was still pointing at him. 

“Hmph,” Kenny glared at Craig as he lowered his weapon. “You guys are talking about Stan, aren’t you?”

Tweek frowned as he explained the whole story to Kenny. Surprisingly, Kenny didn’t seem to have much of a reaction to it. 

“So what’s next for you, space ranger?” Kenny sneered at Craig.

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t have a ship and you’ve betrayed your fucking team,” the cyborg scoffed. “What do you expect to do now? Are you going to wander around the planet with that pussy-ass respirator of yours?” 

“I’m not sure what will happen,” Craig mumbled as he poured Clyde some more of his water. He was running out. “I’ll have to plan it by year.”

Kenny had a devilish smirk. “Maybe you’ll have to learn to drink the dirty, radioactive water everyone else around you has been forced to drink for the past twenty or so years.”

Tweek sighed. “It’s not so bad when you get used to it.”

“I’d rather not,” the marine told him as he finally removed his respirator off again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, just a heads up- More "stuff" happens in the next few chapters. I have 11 planned and we'll see how it all goes.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Craig adjusts to life on Lynx.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. I caved in. I wrote smutt. And I wrote it a little outta order but shit happens... So just a warning that A. I upped the rating and B. there's light smutt in this chapter.

There was no going back. The marine had thrown everything away the second he allowed Stan to be shot. He ran with Tweek, leaving his fellow marine behind without another thought. He was stuck on Lynx, as far as he was concerned. Kenny and Tweek helped adjust him to life on the decaying planet.

There wasn’t much enjoyment for the daily routine in Lynx. Tweek, Craig, and Clyde would scavenge nearby abandoned cities, or cars on the highway. Sometimes they would find some disgusting, expired food, that Tweek would snatch, insisting that it was still edible. There was no use in the marine trying to argue with him. The twitchy blond was desperate for anything he could get his hands on. Other times, they grabbed various scrap, that Tweek would take to Kenny. The cyborg was very skilled at creating weapons, ammo, or various self defense devices out of any metals that were brought to him.

Craig anxiously spread out his rations and water, trying to make them last. Sadly, within two days, the marine was out of both. The twitchy blond said he would take him to one of the only oases that he knew of. The marine pictured a beautiful pond surrounded by greens, as if Lynx were like other planets. However, he was led to a disgusting ditch, filled with dirty, tan-colored water. Clyde dunk his entire head in for a drink, while the blond knelt down and cupped his hands. 

“What’s wrong, Craig?”

“That isn’t safe to drink,” the marine growled as he pulled the alien away from it. Clyde hissed back at him, before jumping into the ditch, causing water to splash over both Craig and Tweek. “Dammit,” Craig couldn’t stand the feeling of water seeping through his armor. 

Tweek smirked, trying not to cackle. He seemed to enjoy the water hitting him. “There isn’t really any clean water left,” he dunk his head in and quickly pulled it out, scratching through his hair. Clyde climbed out and laid beside Tweek. He made odd purring sounds as the blond pet his head.

“I can’t drink that stuff, you may have grown a tolerance, but it would probably kill me.”

“Craig, I don’t know what else you could drink.”

The marine sighed. Tweek watched as Craig knelt down, pulled up his mask and quickly cupped his hands for a drink. The water didn’t go down very well, it tasted mud and felt slimy. He tried not to gag as he forced himself to swallow. Within seconds, the marine had his respirator back on. The drink didn’t settle in his stomach very well.

They decided to head back home since it would soon get dark. Tweek had searched some cars on the roads. He was ecstatic to find a bin of coffee bins in one of the trunks. He had a very, unhealthy obsession for coffee. The marine had never seen a man drink so much coffee in his entire life.

When they came back to the tunnels, Craig had quickly undressed his sweaty, heavy armor. He was getting ready to sleep in the hammock, with the blond laying against him again. He heard Tweek’s cargo pants drop to the floor. The marine quickly turned around to see the ash covered man standing in nothing but slightly loose fitting briefs. 

“I’m glad we get to spend more time together,” Tweek murmured as he approached Craig. He got very close. “I would’ve been sad to see you leave.”

The marine didn’t want to crush the blond’s hopes. The two pressed their foreheads together. “Where’s Kenny?” Craig asked discreetly.

“He’s probably already asleep in the other room,” Tweek whispered seductively. His hands rode down Craig’s chest as he slowly lowered himself. Craig’s face went read as the blond reached through the marine’s fly hole. His twitchy hand began to stroke the shaft as he shyly smiled up at Craig. “I’ve been meaning to reward you...for everything you’ve done.”

The marine leaned against the wall. It didn’t take very long for him to get hard. “Wait,” he quickly pulled away from the blond. “You don’t have to thank me like this.”

Tweek seemed disappointed. “You don’t like it?”

The blushing, fluttered man struggled to think of how to respond. “It’s not that I don’t like it. It just doesn’t seem right. I feel like I’m somehow taking advantage of you, Tweek.”

“I want to do this,” the twitchy blond growled at him. “You’re not forcing me to do anything.”

Craig tried to ignore his excited erection that wouldn’t seem to go down. He was completely embarrassed and felt humiliated. “I’ve never done anything like this before,” he quickly burst out. It felt good, but it also felt so wrong. He couldn’t help but feel guilt over looming his head. What was he about to do?

Tweek went back up and wrapped his arms around Craig’s shoulders. “It’s okay, I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to.” He apologized for his very sudden actions.

“It’s okay,” Craig quickly burst out. He tried to keep himself under control. “Did...you want to continue?”

The blond smirked as he got back down on his knees. He stooped forward as his lips wrapped around Craig’s tip. His tongue pressed against the head as he was able to go deeper. He moaned something inaudible before gagging a little as he had a mouthful.

His eyes looked right back up at Craig. The marine nervously coughed, trying to suppress how good it felt. “What should I do for you?”

Tweek slowly moved back so that he could speak. He continued to rub Craig, gently, even after his mouth had departed. “You can do whatever you’d like.”

“Is there any way I can pleasure you?” The marine was holding in the urge to grunt or moan. His hands were clenched against the cold wall behind him.

The blond looked back at the empty couch, then at the hammock. He was silent for a second before he got up and dropped his briefs to the floor. He couldn’t help but smile at how flustered the marine got. He had an even longer shaft than Craig did.

Tweek wrapped one of his hands around his lover’s as he led him to the hammock. He quickly shooed Clyde out. The alien crawled onto the couch, completely oblivious to what was going on.

“Go ahead and lie down,” Tweek insisted to the confused marine.

Craig did as he was told. Then he noticed a leg going past his fast. Before he knew it, two big, low-hanging balls hit him right in the face. Tweek went back to groping and sucking on the marine’s shaft. He wiggled his own, slightly-hairy, member across Craig’s face. It twitched, side to side, excitedly. 

Eventually, Craig go the hint as his hand reached out and began to stroke the erection. As Craig slowly opened his mouth, Tweek quickly thrust in and out while his head bobbed up and down Craig’s shaft. The marine sloppily gagged as he felt like he couldn’t breathe. He could not only smell Tweek’s sweat, but he could feel it dripping onto him.

Suddenly, Craig couldn’t help but let out a muffled moan as he felt his entire body tingle. His stomach felt sensitive as his legs thrust up, further into Tweek’s throat. He gasped as found himself releasing into his friend. Craig could hear the blond, drooling and gagging all over. It wasn’t look before Craig’s member had gone limp and Tweek focused entirely on his own satisfaction. He swung in deep and all Craig could see were a set of balls, plopped right over his eyes.

The marine’s arms pressed against Tweek’s legs, trying to give himself more breathing space. He wasn’t able to hold him up for long. Craig was dribbling all over himself as he choked on Tweek’s length. The ash covered blond let out a loud, excited moan as he dipped deep into Craig’s throat. He had relieved himself and soon after, pulled himself out. Craig swallowed the nasty tasting cum without complaining. He coughed a little as the blond turned around.

They both breathed heavily. Tweek laid beside Craig in the hammock. He pressed his head against the marine’s bare chest. “I love you,” he finally confessed as he caressed Craig’s stomach. “I hope you never leave.” Tweek leaned up and gave Craig a kiss. Craig couldn’t have helped but feel like everything Tweek did was out of order. 

It wasn’t long before the alien crawled into the hammock and curled up between Craig’s legs. Tweek pet Clyde a little before giving Craig his full attention again.

“So that was your first time?” Tweek giggled. He seemed more relaxed than he ever had been before. He snuggled against his lover. 

Craig nodded. 

“What did you think?”

The truth was Craig didn’t know how he felt. It was strange, awkward, and he had never expected it to happen. Yet it also felt so good. He felt amazing. Nobody had ever pleasure him in the way that the ash covered blond had. However, Craig had never seen himself have a romance that started like this. 

“It felt pretty good,” he said hesitatingly. “I think I would’ve preferred kissing you before you had your mouth around my cock.”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Craig whispered. “I love you too, Tweek.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took me longer than I wanted it to because I was busy at a con all weekend, as well as helping someone move.


End file.
